Pledge/Prayer: President Gary McCauley
Program: Bill McLaughlin introduced our guest, Bob Hennessy to speak about the harmonica:
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Harmonicas are played around the world in various styles such as blues, jazz, rock and more. The harmonica was invented in 1821 by Edwin Bushman. We are all familiar with the many tunes we attach to the harmonica and Bob played portions of some. From Glory Glory Hallelujah at Antietem following the Civil War to the south's tribute, Land of Dixie, this was a popular instrument because you could take it with you anywhere anytime because it fit in your pocket. The cost of one back then was 10 cents which may not seem like much but that could have been a week's pay for some. With time came changes and other music formats appeard such as European Folk music. Harmonicas helped out with morale on war fronts and saved lives in battle. After the war, over 10 million were sold at a price of $1.49. In 1924 Hohmer created the chromatic harmonica that featured a button on the side to change the octave. The harmonica is very versatile. You can change the sound and tone by the way you wrap your hands around it and because it fits in your pocket - it's always with you to play, practice and hone your skill. Bob played songs by Walter (Little Walter) Jacobs - a pioneer. Jean "Toots" Thielmans played the harmonica with greats such as Benny Goodman, Billy Joel and was on Sesame Street. He is considered the greatest harmonica jazz intrumentalist. Big Moma Thornton, John Mayall, Jerry Portnoy, Stevie Wonder and Juke Joint Jonny from the J. Geils Band to name other accomplished harmonica musicians. There are 7 different models of harmonicas (bass, midi, 4 octave,Little Lady, 6-way tremolo..).
You can contact Bob: Email: Bob Hennessy@att.net, Tel: 860-635-3382, www.radialarts.com
If you are interested in getting into this, Bob recommends Rockin Rons Music. When playing blow lightly like you want to make a candle flutter 6 inches away to keep from damaging the instrument. Bob does online lessons too!
Happy Bucks: BM: on the way to University of Kentucky for grandaughter's graduation; MD is traveling but happy to make the meeting; PD: enjoyed the speaker today; Mr PD: getting out more, was in RI for the weekend, things getting back to normal; JA: the green grass and not quite ready to go maskless despite the CDC saying its ok if you are vaccinated; AS: traveling to Florida to see son and grandson, vaccine is 96% effective so its ok to go maskless if you have been vaccinated; JAf: grandaughter has graduated college and is going on to grad school, enjoyed the program today; JM: the program and the nice day; CR: the program especially because his dad played the harmonica and guitar at the same time; JP: enjoyed the program, CDC approving vaccine for 12-15 year olds, the vote of confidence for the approval of the school budget; BO: enjoyed the program; JW: visiting Dad; MD: the great program; JG: Mothers Day!
Committees:
- Scholarship: Charlie Renshaw notified all 3 high schools of the awards. A shout out to Amber who made the process very smooth!
- Gary talked about an instructional online date with Eventgroove. The 1st Monday of June will be a "walk-thru"
- Students of the Month awarded for month of May in Business studies.
Westbrook - Livian Brito
Old Saybrook - Helen Day
Lyme-Old Lyme - Fiona Fredericks
- Memorial Day: Marty said we have our registration in to march in the parade.
- Golf Tournament: Charlie Renshaw stated the scheduled meeting for this week had to be re-scheduled for next week, day and time to be determined. There will be a Zoom meeting at 9, Tuesday May 18.
- Club Budget: Gary worked on the budget which includes dues and club operating expenses. Based on 36 members, there are "hard" costs such as district and international dues (~$5,000), ZOOM software license, Chamber of Commerce dues and more. Gary proposes an increase of dues to $160 ($6 increase) but there is still a shortfall which may be ok because some of the expenses may not come to fruition. Some food for thought concerning meeting lunch and breakfast, restaurants have a minimum that must be met. If attendance doesn't meet the minimum, the club must pay the difference. To avoid this, there may be a signup requirement for future live meetings.
- Meeting schedule: Pat Devito is working on live meetings. We'll do ZOOM thru the month of May. June 2 or 9 will be breakfast meetings. Lunch meetings will be outdoors with the Saybrook Pavilion as a backup should it rain. June 29 or July 1 are being considered for evening socials. Currently, Luigi's is not open for lunch. Parthenon Diner is a possible breakfast location.
- Outreach: Joan Michaud received a thank you letter from Girl Scouts of America.
- New Website: Marty reports it is progressing. The front page is nearly done and Web Solutions is working on the interior.
- Bill McLaughlin has programs lined up for May. Next week the speaker, Ray Lombra will talk about budget deficits - should we be concerned?
Joe Arcari commented at how important our scholarships are to young people who are going to college. Speaking from experience, Joe says they truly make a difference in people's lives.
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